People, Positions and Obituaries · 31 July 2026

Hong Wang, Yu Deng, John Pardon and Jacob Tsimerman Honoured with Fields Medal 2026

Exam-focused facts from the 31 July 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

  • The Fields Medal 2026 was awarded to four mathematicians: Hong Wang, Yu Deng, John Pardon, and Jacob Tsimerman at the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) on July 23, 2026.
  • Yu Deng, an MIT alumnus (BS 2011) and professor at the University of Chicago, received the medal for his work in partial differential equations, including the derivation of the Boltzmann equation.
  • Hong Wang, an MIT PhD (2019) and Silver Professor at New York University, received the medal for her work in harmonic analysis and geometric measure theory, including solving the Kakeya problem in three dimensions.
  • Hong Wang is the third woman ever to win the Fields Medal.
  • The Fields Medal is awarded once every four years and is regarded as one of the highest honors in mathematics.

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